Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The city might be filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the dread of government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the looming presence of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the established structure. The film functions as a poignant look into making ends meet, found community, and the quest for identity within a harsh urban landscape.
